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The Lahore police registered a case on Tuesday after the staff of the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) and the Young Doctors Association (YDA) alleged that a five-year-old girl was raped on the facility’s premises. The protest was led by Punjab YDA President Dr Shoaib Niazi and Dr Azam Saeed, president of the YDA’s chapter for the hospital. The demonstration was also joined by the staff and students of the hospital as well as the Fatima Jinnah Medical University (FJMU). A note of demands by the protesters said: “An incident of rape/attempt of rape on the premises of SGRH Lahore has occurred, which was pushed under the carpet by the administration. The victim was said to be a minor of five years old. “The students of FJMU/SGRH demand transparency and an investigation of the case. The students further demand the administration to answer their criminal silence. If such incidents are covered up and silenced, it raises a question mark for the hospital administration!” Among others, the pro...

QUETTA: Balochistan Minister for Home and Tribal Affairs Mir Ziaullah Langove on Monday said the youth should reject the politics of violence, anarchy and hatred and lead in the development of the province in a democratic manner. Mr Langove, who is also the central vice president of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), said talented youth were a valuable asset of the nation. He was of the opinion that Balochistan’s was lagging behind in the progress because of those few self-interested people who provoked the youth to pick up guns instead of encouraging them towards education, health and employment. He said the top priority of the present government was to settle education, health and sports fields in the wider interest of the province. The minister said that revolutionary steps taken in the education sector under the leadership of Balochistan CM Sarfraz Bugti were yielding positive results. “Balochistan is a bouquet of different nations, we must embrace peace, love and brotherhood among...

A smart person learns from the mistakes of others, while the simpleton only learns by committing those same mistakes firsthand. Or so the saying in Urdu goes. But, there is also a lot that never learns, just like the people running Pakistan who relish repeating the same set of self-destruction without ever grasping the consequences. In case you were wondering, I was talking about Pakistan’s repeated adventures with the internet . Even a decade after this obsession first started on a scale, those in power are as serious as ever about reenacting the same blunders, only bigger and better this time. Whether it’s wilful ignorance, brash arrogance or just good-old incompetence, nobody knows. What we do know is that the authorities — whichever ones call the shots — have been throttling connectivity for more than a year now, just around that fateful day we shall not name. Everyone has experienced it: at home, in the office or while commuting. Doesn’t matter if you rely on fixed or mobile b...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed the government’s resolve to stop power theft , reduce line losses, and improve the power distribution system across the county. Presiding over a meeting in Islamabad to review the matters of the power ministry, the prime minister directed the power minister and secretary of power division to coordinate with the provinces concerning halting electricity theft, the performance of power distribution companies (DISCOs), and other matters of the sector. “A whole of the government approach should be adopted to resist power theft across the country,” the prime minister said. He informed the meeting that the government had appointed new board chairmen and members in five DISCOs through a transparent process, adding that he hoped that the appointments would further improve the performance of the distribution companies. The prime minister instructed provincial governments to maintain the necessary police force and Tehsildars according to th...

KARACHI: A former Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) official, who was the last living survivor of the 1965 Cairo crash, passed away in London. Salahuddin Siddique, 93, had retired in 1980 as general manager (public affairs) of the national flag carrier. He was one of the people on board the ill-fated inaugural PIA flight from Karachi and London, which crashed near Cairo airport on May 20, 1965. The flight was supposed to stop over in Dhahran, Cairo and Geneva. The plane had 128 passengers and crew on board, of whom only six had survived. Mr Siddique had been living in London for a long time. According to family sources, he is survived by a son and a daughter. A PIA spokesperson, on behalf of the management of the national flag carrier, condoled with the bereaved family, saying PIA would always remember Mr Siddique’s services. Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2024 from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/NzyBF1q

Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD on Saturday announced plans to open a car production plant in Pakistan, where it will also start selling three models through a partnership with Mega Motors. BYD is the first major new electric vehicle (NEV) entrant in the Pakistani market , where there is a lack of charging infrastructure. “Our entry into the Pakistani market is not just about bringing advanced vehicles to consumers,” said Liu Xueliang, BYD’s general manager for Asia Pacific. “It’s about driving a broader vision of environmental responsibility and technological innovation.” BYD also plans to open three “flagship stores and experience centres” in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, the company said at a launch event in Lahore, adding it plans to start selling two SUV models and a sedan from the fourth quarter of 2024. Mega Motors is a unit of Pakistan’s largest private utility Hub Power Co Ltd, known as Hubco. “We will establish Pakistan’s first NEV assembly plant […] dedicate...

• Reforms committee suggests drastic cuts, mergers in five ministries • SME regulator to be brought under PM Office on Shehbaz’s orders • Premier tasks minister with implementing reforms in gemstone sector ISLAMABAD: As part of efforts to streamline state machinery and reduce administrative expenditures, the government has decided to abolish 28 departments in five ministries. The decision was taken at a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday in light of the recommendations of a committee he had formed. The meeting was briefed on reforms in five ministries — Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, States and Frontier Regions, Information Tech­nology and Telecommuni­cation, Indus­tries and Pro­duction and National Health Services. “The meeting proposed merging the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan with the States and Frontier Regions. It was recommended that 28 organisations under these five ministries should either be completely shut down, pr...